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Chosun Ilbo: Ling and Lee Likely to Be Sent to “Special” Labor Camp

The Chosun Ilbo speculates — and that’s pretty much all there is to this — that Laura Ling and Euna Lee will miss the opportunity to report on the conditions in a real North Korean labor camp. Lucky for them.

Instead, they will probably be sent to a special camp originally built to accommodate ranking members of the Workers Party and other figures thought to merit special treatment. Special camps are better furnished than general camps, and inmates reportedly do relatively light work.

There are apparently two special camps, one in Pyongsong, South Pyongan Province and one in Wonsan, Kangwon Province. A source speculated that Pyongsong is the likelier option because it is easier for visitors to meet them not far from Pyongyang, while it is also more difficult for outsiders to get a glimpse of the North Korean reality from there.  [Chosun Ilbo]

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  1. Just fyi – this article was published June 10th, right after the end of the trial; since then, Ling’s pre-existing and Lee’s newly developed medical condition may have led them instead to a medical facility in Pyongyang.

  2. A question: I used Google maps to try and find Pyongsong. I scrolled all around North Korea at various magnifications using satellite view with labels turned ‘on’.

    No labels for North Korea.

    They’re present for South Korea, China and Russia. But not for North Korea. I went to Pyongyang: Google can find it for me but no labels whatsoever.

    Is this typical? I wanted to scout out Pyongsong and see if I could find the camp but this is impossible.

  4. The reeducation-labor camps, aka kyo hwa so, are very hard to find in satellite imagery without a witness to identify them. The concentration camps, or kwan li so, are much easier to find because of the fences and guard posts surrounding them. None of those exist near Pyongsong, and Ling and Lee wouldn’t be sent to one.